Filtering by Tag: alignment

I have the unique perspective of being a professional classical violist, yoga teacher, and pilates instructor, meaning that over the years, I have taught a wide spectrum of people different things. From working with 7 year olds just handling a violin for the first time, women in their eighties looking to move better, to professional athletes needing mobility on game day, teaching is an interesting, challenging, and rewarding profession. One question, however, intrigues me: ”Am I doing it right?” The answer is…”It depends.”

Classical music study is fairly regimented and has a limited definition of “Doing it right,” which includes perfect intonation, rhythm, sound, and style, as well as a narrowly defined perspective of intonation. There’s only a few ways to “do it right,” and a million ways to “do it wrong,” at least defined by discriminating ears. (See my thoughts on orchestral auditions for more on that). Conversely, I have always enjoyed teaching movement and practicing movement because there is a much larger spectrum of “doing it right,” at least based on the teachings and modalities I’ve studied..

My first yoga teacher was a wonderful man versed in both bodywork as well as traditional yoga, weight training, dance, and pilates. (He, David Vendetti still owns the studio in Boston that I trained at). His studio had incredible body diversity in age, gender and race, especially for yoga circa 2007-2008, and a large range of abilities. He always cued different ways to do a pose, and multiple expressions of doing things. As I moved around the country for music studies, I quickly learned that his approach was unique, and that many teachers did not think or teach this way. I was later shamed in a class for not doing all the chaturangas (or pushups) when my wrists hurt, and the teacher asked why I was disregarding his instruction. I was later told that there was only one right alignment for a pose, and that the aesthetic appearance seemed to be very important, rather than the way I felt in the pose. I disagreed with this train of thought, and stopped doing yoga for a while, only to return to it later when I found a more positive studio and environment. Classical music is so incredibly exacting, precise and demanding- I don’t necessarily want every other aspect of my life to reflect that.

After doing my 200 hour teacher training in yoga, I went on to do all of the Yoga Tune Up® trainings, which expanded that definition of “doing poses right,” and furthered the dialogue about how poses feel as the practitioner, which I loved. It also brought up the notion that movements or poses can look good in terms of someone’s definition of alignment, but not feel great or be a productive movement for the practitioner. The line I first heard from Trina Altman is “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” specifically in reference to poses that demanded extreme range of motion. My training in apparatus based pilates was in a similar mindset of exploring pilates movements but also doing the best you can, even if it doesn’t look as perfect as the textbook/video/photograph. It was only later where I encountered the pilates teachers with different goals.

Let’s go back to the initial question I get sometimes, “Am I doing it right?” Although classical music is very precise, that’s not a question that comes up that often in lessons. Perhaps it’s because being a performer takes a certain a amount of ego and conviction in one’s choices? There are plenty of things to correct in music lessons, but the critique often comes from the teacher, rather than the student initially questioning their approach. Young children especially do not care if they’re doing it right- it’s a learned behavior that seems to come in during elementary age. Yet, elementary age teachers often have an enormous amount of patience as children learn, stumble, and often make mistakes. Mistakes lead to growth and learning, whether it’s learning how to read, move, or play an instrument.

Adults, however, don’t want to be wrong and yet don’t have confidence while moving, despite the fact that no movement teacher knows your body like you do. Our perfectionist culture means that it takes incredible courage and vulnerability to learn something new, whether it’s a skill, a language, an instrument, weight training, or pilates. Movement teachers often forget this, either because we were naturally gifted movers, or because it’s our profession. When people show up for a group class, or even worse, a private session, they are showing up and are willing to be seen, in their bodies, with their abilities, as they are in this moment. They bring their body image, their stress, their knee injuries, and everything in between, and are willing to get critical feedback on how they move their bodies. Being seen by a professional movement teacher can be scary- when I started, I wished I was thinner, more flexible, and was afraid I wouldn’t know the movements when they were cued, and I can imagine many other students feel that way. In addition, students may not be used to feeling movements in their bodies- our culture is not one of immense proprioception or awareness, and so a pilates session, yoga class, or personal training session may be the first time in days, weeks, or months, that someone has felt sensation in their body.

“Doing it right” then has a completely different definition: are we teaching people how to move better in their own bodies and be aware of their bodies, or are we teaching them a set of shapes that should look a certain way? Yes, there are set poses in yoga, pilates, and other movement modalities, and yes, there are set perspectives on alignment, but within that, there is a spectrum of possible expressions. If someone’s footwork is slightly askew, they probably won’t seriously injure themselves, or if they lose their pelvic stability in feet in straps. Learning anything takes time- you’re literally creating new neural pathways for movement, using receptors in a new way. Making mistakes is inherently a part of learning, so as long as the client is not injuring themselves and is attempting to do what they’re being instructed, they are “doing it right” for where they are. If the goal is to have students become aware of their body and learn about their body, then they are “doing it right, 100%.”

When I teach something, I usually give a student (either of music or movement) a few tries without any feedback, just to see what happens. Then I’ll say something like, “Great- I can see that it’s starting to make sense- let’s refine it.” If I want the student to do something different, it also means that I need to be more precise with my language and change my explanation, rather than saying, “no, that’s not it.” A student’s inability to do a task means that you, as a teacher, need to assess, evaluate, and see where you can communicate more effectively to cater to that student’s needs, whether that’s word choice, demonstration, simile or something else.

Skill acquisition is incredible complex, requiring many facets of the brain. When we see this as the incredible feat for the brain that it is, especially for older individuals, it’s easier to appreciate the different learning styles and speeds of learning that people have. Going back to the pilates student’s question, “Am I doing it right,” my answer is “are you feeling things in your body that are productive and it looks sort of like what I cued? Then I am happy.”

Upward facing dog- feel free to skip it and take a cobra instead, knees down, less wrist pressure.

So the first two posts in this series covered the woes of full wrist extension in yoga, pilates, athletics, etc. Now that we've established why wrist intensive postures can be too much for musicians (full wrist extension coupled with large load coupled with frequency= ouch!) let's look at some solutions for going to group fitness classes, whether they be yoga, barre, HIIT, or something else.

1. If you regularly go to a vinyasa flow-style class (usually titles might be "vinyasa flow," "Hot flow," "Dynamic stretch," "Power flow,"), feel free to skip any of the vinyasa movements that are wrist intensive (i.e. plank to chaturanga to updog, any arm balances, etc.) Just because everyone else in the class is doing something DOESN'T mean you have to do it, or that you have to repeat a sequence as many times as other people. It doesn’t make you a weaker person to take agency about your own body and what works.

Downward facing dog- ask a teacher for some help with your DFD if you feel like you have shoulder, wrist, and elbow pain.

2. Look for teachers who have experience with injuries, specialized conditions, anatomy, etc. The minimum required hours of training for yoga teaching is only 200 hours and many fitness trainers start doing weekend trainings, so look for folks who have additional teaching experience and have a teaching philosophy that shows adaptability. I have taken classes with teachers who are VERY defensive about modifying or allowing people to skip poses, and I've definitely been guilted into doing things I shouldn't because a teacher came over and said I should explore "my edge" or push myself. Give yourself permission to do what's right for you and don't attend classes where you feel unwelcome because of your restrictions or modifications. Regardless of your age, size, or ability, teachers don’t have a right to make you feel less than others if you don’t do everything they cue in a class.

3. Ask a teacher, trainer, PT, or coach (that you trust) to look at your setup, especially in Downward facing dog, planks, push ups, and other weight bearing positions. They can either help modify or alter the pose in a way that will challenge you but prevent discomfort or strain. They can also help you create a progression that will build strength and progressively load your wrists over time.

4. Look for styles of yoga that don't put as much emphasis in sequencing on wrist intensive poses. Ashtanga, vinyasa, and power classes tend to be more dynamic, weight-bearing, and wrist intensive. Iyengar, "slow flow," restorative, yin, and basics classes are usually slower and less weight bearing before you speed things up. (Bikram also puts minimal stress on the wrists, but I get headaches in 100 degree rooms. I leave that one with you.) If you’re looking at a gym, HIIT, or other class, some trainers throw in push ups for fun every few minutes, others look at quality of movement and more compound complex movements. Investigate, do some research, and make your choice.

The wrist wedge decreases the degree of wrist extension needed.

5. Prop it up! Yoga props are sometimes a mysterious thing for some students, but they can really help to find new ways of practicing.

a. Foam or cork wedges can help decrease the wrist extension.

This is a block that allows gripping instead of placing the hand flat down on the floor or block.

b. Grippy blocks can change the wrist position, but sometimes the gripping can make existing wrist problems worse.

c. Wrist guards- I had a pair of Wags (wrist assured gloves) for many years while I was rehabilitating from my tendonitis (ca. 2009), and they helped amazingly. There are many different sorts of wrist guards out there, but these have a built in wedge of silicone to decrease the angle of wrist extension, which helps a lot. They're also marketed to yoga, pilates, and TRX, so they're not just a yoga thing.

Dolphin (with arms in supinate). A terrific way to strengthen the shoulder without taxing the wrists.

6. Consider trading your downward facing dogs, planks, and side planks for dolphin variations, which is on the forearms. Not only is forearm plank very challenging for the shoulders and core, it's not wrist intensive and will prepare your body for other weight bearing poses.

7. If you don't have any extra props available to you, just fold up the front part of your mat and boom!, you have a built in yoga wedge.

This is a quick fix for any mid-class wrist discomfort (besides taking a break).

8. If a teacher tries to make you feel badly about your limitations, don't take it personally and do what you think is best. Some teachers now have a "more is more" attitude when it comes to vinyasas and intense poses, and they may have no idea about your needs. It's also not a race to see who can do the most chaturangas in a class.

9. Lastly, make sure you have solid hand alignment. Fingers are spread wide, with weight spread throughout the palm and knuckles. There is no one perfect shape for weight bearing hands, but there are definitely less advantageous shapes. When the weight sinks into the base of the palm, and is not distributed throughout the hand, it's often uncomfortable. Some people prefer middle finger pointed forward, others like the hand turned out slightly...different "alignments" for different people. Above all, remember that a lifetime of static positions (holding your instrument) means that your wrists, forearms, and shoulders need to slowly adjust to bearing weight. Whether you're a yoga person, pilates person, or strength and conditioning person, gradual change and adaptation is key.

Last month I went to a yoga class which annoyed the heck out of me. The second posture of the sequence was full wheel (a deep backbend) followed by an optional handstand, which was just for starters, followed by a Taylor Swift dance break midway. These things were all terrifying in and of themselves, but the worst of it was when the teacher said that "chaturangas in a yoga class are like clowns in a clown car-the more you can fit in, the better." I don't always do (or teach) multiple chaturangas in a yoga class, which can leave some students perplexed. Why? Let's start with what chaturanga, as a yoga asana, is.

This posture is essentially a yoga push up.

Our environment is conspiring to keep you slouched, head forward, chest tight, and with weak shoulders. Your yoga practice may be making that worse!

It's basically a half lowered down push up, but with a fancy sanskrit name. It occurs in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence, and can either be followed by upward facing dog, cobra, etc. As a strengthening pose, it focuses on pecs, anterior deltoid, and triceps, an area that is usually overly short (and often weak) in most people to begin with. Because of a combination of different factors, repeating this posture without strengthening the opposing muscles can create an imbalance in the shoulders, especially if the shoulder blades are not stabilized by the serrates anterior in the lowering phase. In addition, the transition to upward dog can be extremely challenging in and of itself. By emphasizing the front of the body, which is already restricted, most yoga asana ignores the posterior shoulder muscles, such as the posterior deltoids, the rhomboids, and the external rotators of your shoulder (infraspinatus, teres minor). Musicians in particular, tend to be weak in these areas from repetitive practice and lack of cross training. There are also consequences for wrists unused to bearing full weight in full extension (read my thoughts on that), as well as exarcerbating restriction in the front of the chest.

I love this image from Jason Ray Brown-it's not that chaturanga is bad. It's mostly that we're overtargeting one side of the body and ignoring the rest, which can be a recipe for disaster if yoga is your primary movement pattern!

What can you do instead? If you are someone who practices a style of yoga which might feature 25-50 chaturangas in each class, consider laying off of a few here and there, especially if you have past or current shoulder issues. Sometimes the movement gets accelerated to a point that quality of movement is compromised, which is not ideal either. I've restricted my chaturangas to 10 or less in a class, and added strengthening poses for the back of the shoulders and lats, as well as some weight training and hanging from a bar. (Also, look at what is happening in the your shoulder blades as you lower- if there is a lot of retraction happening, your serratus is not helping you to stabilize and create some external rotation.) Here's a quote from yoga teacher Jenni Rawlings, which summarizes my feelings completely.

One of the main reasons people practice yoga is to create more balance in the body. Chaturanga is a pose, however, that when done repetitively, actually moves us away from balance and toward imbalance. 

— Jenni Rawlings

Before you throw it all out though, ask: am I doing pulling motions outside of yoga? In addition to lowering myself towards the floor, can I push myself up? How many chaturangas am I doing in comparison to other shoulder strengthening work? How many times a week do I practice a chaturanga heavy practice? As with all movements, the question is not whether the movement is "bad." It's whether or not your body is prepared to handle the load, magnitude, and frequency of the action. It's also about whether your shoulder is strong in many ranges of motion to support your work on and OFF the mat!

I'm fascinated at how most upper string players are taught to stand in order to play violin or viola, and how that has originated historically. Just to illustrate my point on how virtually everyone turns out at least one leg while playing violin, here's a gallery of images through the ages. Some are exaggerated artistic renderings, some are photographs. It's been happening for hundreds of years, and perhaps, it's not the only advantageous way to stand.

Vivaldi

We see the turn out and the staggered stance- all of his weight is on his right leg.

Paganini

This is obviously an illustration and not a photograph, but it looks painful.

Campagnoli

Right leg seems more turned out than the left here.

Paganini's Hip

Another dramatic artist rendering?

Paganini again

Perhaps a more realistic rendering of Paganini-his knees/legs are almost pointed forward, but notice how much more weight is on his left (your right) side? Also notice how a certain posture can be interpreted as showmanship! It's interesting to imagine how long he held this pose to get photographed back then.

Pablo Sarasate

Essential Elements

This image is from Book 1 of the Essential Elements series.

Adventures in Violin-Land

External rotation of the hips plus a staggered stance.

Split stance

With one foot so far in front of the other, it's interesting to think of how challenging this might be.

Isaac Stern

Great violinist...standing on one foot.

Yehudi Menuhin

Even violinist and healthy playing pioneer Yehudi Menuhin turned out his legs. He was a serious yoga student and wrote an excellent book on violin technique and ergonomics.

Suzuki with Children

The turnout and split stance doesn't seem to be so pronounced here-kids are still learning about their bodies, and still may have a forward facing leg/hip pattern. Also, the children are so young that stance may not have been emphasized.

Suzuki Teaching

We can see that this adorable little girl already has the unbalanced posture/turnout. Is it from violin training? Or from life? It's impossible to say.

Andre Rieu

"Showmanship" in posture-taking on a strange stance, and then adding facial expression for drama, artistry, and whatnot.

Sarah Chang, in backbend

While we can't see her feet, I can almost guarantee that she is wearing super high heels. She's also in quite the backbend, which would not be comfy balancing on a heel the width of a pencil!

Joshua Bell

Gil Shaham

This is the perfect exaggeration of the tortured-gypsy-devilish-artistic-showmanship persona. Crazy posture, as though taken over by the devil, is the norm. Fortunately, Shaham looks nothing like this in real life.

Always good to see a stock photo model in 5 inch heels trying to hold a bow.

Lego in turnout

Julia Fischer backbending

British violinist Ben Lee, in a fierce backbend and mini squat stance position. He also has a jewel crusted electric violin.

Yehudi may have been a serious yogi, but he turned out his feet too. It's how it's been "done" for hundreds of years.

We can see that this pattern is not just limited to any one specific training in violin or viola, but is instead a timeless practice extending far beyond any one technique or tradition. There's a combination of "showmanship" histrionics and drama, which sometimes makes for unusual stance and posture. In addition, some of these images may be taken while the player is moving dynamically, and may not illustrate a specific static posture.

There are a few constant themes though- legs tend to be turned out in most images, and many people have a split stance with one leg in front of the other. The other common theme in talking about musical instrument alignment is balance: different teachers will speak of different alignments that are the "best" way, as long as the student is in balance, but what does a balanced standing posture even mean?

Is it your fault if you play with one leg in front of the other or in turn out? No. Are you definitely going to hurt yourself or your students if you teach this way? Not necessarily. But the question I have is: why? If having one leg in front is "counterbalancing" the weight of the violin or viola, what is happening to the rest of the body to accomplish that, and what are the long term effects on the body?

However, as biomechanists, kinesiologists, and music educators refine their understanding of the body, I suggest that we adapt our practices accordingly and start to inquire, "why." Many of these were (and are) great musicians, and perhaps they never played with pain in their hips, spines, shoulders, or necks. However, I know many folks who do work with pain while standing and playing, and so I suggest a questioning of a "one right way to stand" approach. Movement while playing is natural, but it's also good to ask what your baseline posture is and whether it's serving you, in and out of the practice space.

I started my humble music career as a Suzuki violinist, beginning at the age of 6. While there are many useful and important things I learned in my early training, standing position was one that has posed confusion as I've aged. Let me explain a bit more, for those non-violinist or violists out there.

This is a perfect example of learning "proper" violin stance. Start with the feet together, then turn the feet out (externally rotating hopefully from the hip, hopefully) and then step the left foot forward.

When one learns beginning violin, often one is told to turn the feet out and step the left foot forward. I learned this way, and stood this way for a long time. (Over 15 years, at least). A few years ago, I started noticing that in yoga, pilates, and weight training, we were told to have both feet pointing forward, at least sometimes. I instead wondered, why do I always turn my feet out when I play, and does it actually serve me? I have since started experimenting with this concept.

This adorable image is from Shirley Givens' violin series, showing that left foot turnout. In addition, the illustrated girl puts much more weight on her left foot, enhancing the asymmetry of the stance.

So what's the big deal? Our feet naturally point forward or with a minimal turnout, and you may already remember that when you walk with your feet extremely turned out, there are potential consequences for foot, knee, and hip issues. (In addition, when feet point forward rather than externally rotated, the musculature of the foot is better able to support the body in standing and walking, and the ankle joint is able to articulate more fully.) From a biomechanical perspective, I don't understand why music educators have been teaching students to externally rotate their hips while standing, and I definitely don't understand why one foot needs to be in front of the other. I just don't. (Who decided this was a good idea?) However, I don't only care about the feet, but I care also about what is happening in the hips too. When one hip is perpetually externally rotated (left hip), we can exaggerate that asymmetry out of the practice room, and in our daily walking, standing, and movement lives, even if we don't intend to. That means that one set of external hip rotators is constantly working more than the other set, which can affect the muscles, bones, and connective tissue over time. What does that mean?

See how the right side is higher than the left? Mine is the opposite-my left side is shorter than my right. Pelvic tilt Image from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/

Side note, I came to this conclusion because of certain issues I was having in my hip, and that I was seeing in other colleagues of mine. Here are some of my personal symptoms, which may or may not be yours:

1. My left hip has consistently turned out more than my right, whether I'm in music mode, standing, cooking, walking, running, etc. This can simply manifest as the foot turning out, at least in appearance. Both hips want to turn out in standing though. I've been working on gently bringing the legs back to neutral, and found that to be helpful.

2. This in turn can cause my left external rotators of the hip and the low back muscles to be unruly. (Muscles include my gluteus medius, TFL, Quadratus lumborum, and the iliotibial band of fascia.

3. I also have the beginnings of a baby bunion on my left foot which may be impacted by the external rotation of the hip.

4. From a combination of asymmetrical music-making, left side dominance, and a host of other things, my entire left side is loads tighter (less range of motion from sole of the foot up to the shoulder!) than my right, which means that I sometimes have back pain and other issues on just the left side.

So what's the solution? Start to get curious. It's also important to remember that correlation does not imply causation- my left hip/back issues aren't inherently caused by the turn out, but I would venture to say that the perpetual external rotation has impacted things. I will say that my pain has diminished exponentially since I've been doing pilates and other movement activities that have challenged my hip range of motion and stability.

Ask yourself:

-How do you stand when you're playing? Where are your feet, knees, and pelvis? What sort of shoes do you normally wear? How might those be affecting your lower body?

-How do you teach your students to stand? If you have a specific way of teaching stance, why do you teach what you do?

-Try standing differently. Maybe feet closer together, more parallel, right leg in front, both legs in the same orientation...give yourself permission to experiment, and perhaps that will change how you teach.

-Do you sit when you practice at home, and if so, what are your legs doing?

-If you photograph yourself (or video) while playing, what does your standing look like in context?

-Do your feet turn out when you walk/run/play/sit/etc? Start experimenting with changing that setup gradually and see if it changes how you feel. It can have ramifications all around the lower body, specifically feet/knees/hips/spine, but maybe affects other aspects as well.

Playing an instrument requires movement within the body- it's not meant to be a static endeavor, but repeating the same position in perpetuity for twenty plus years may not be the best.